In an electrical system where a header is mated with a plug housing, there is frequently a need to provide an electrical short between components within the plug housing. An example of this situation is in a circuit related to an air bag in an automobile or other vehicle. During assembly of the circuitry of the air bag or after assembly, when maintenance or repair work is being conducted on the vehicle in the vicinity of the air bag, it is important that the air bag not be activated accidentally. Accidental activation of the air bag may cause injury to workers and will incur unnecessary expenses. Thus, it is highly desirable to have a means to inactivate or disarm the triggering circuitry such as for the air bag.
It is known to have a shorting contact on the plug housing to disarm the triggering circuitry and to provide a prong to open the shorting contacts to arm the triggering circuitry. However, the shorting contacts are external to the plug housing, usually on the spacer between the header and the plug housing, and are easily damaged or may inadvertently be opened due to the ease of access to the shorting contacts. Also, the prong to open the shorting contacts is usually a prong extending toward the shorting contacts which is supported at a single juncture and is subject to breakage at the juncture. Furthermore, the shorting contacts are not in the same circuit as socket contacts in the plug housing but usually the shorting contacts are placed on a component of the electrical system separate from the socket contacts. This arrangement is not compact and requires space be provided in the plug housing and/or the header to permit inclusion of the shorting contacts.